Hasta La Gadget!

If you’re ready for the “next big thing” from Samsung, you’ve already got it – that’s what they said when the Galaxy S III was released – but now it’s coming again. It’s about to arrive in the form of the Galaxy Note II, announced quite recently formally for the USA on all the big carriers for release in early November, now there’s an event that’ll likely give us the final release information in tune with some hands-on time as well. This device is the next step after the Galaxy Note – the original handset model – and comes with a larger screen and a collection of new technology enhancements as well.

One of the most important changes to the Samsung Galaxy Note II here between it and its predecessor is the design language it uses. Unlike the first Galaxy Note, this device is made smooth and closer to the nature theme the company chose for the Galaxy S III. Just like the original Galaxy Note, this Note is made to be part of the generation it exists in – with the first looking rather similar to the original Galaxy S II.

This device works with a new and improved S-Pen with a few extra technological enhancements between it and the device’s display. You can still store the S-Pen inside the device, and you’ve got bits like an alert when you’ve stepped away from the pen with the device disconnected – helpful stuff! This device also works with a massive 5.5-inch display with 720 x 1280 pixel resolution – that’s 267 PPI, and you’ve got Corning Gorilla Glass 2 up front as well for top-notch protection.

Inside you’ve got 16, 32, or 64 GB storage and this device’s microSD card slot supports up to 64GB of space as well. This device works with a quad-core Samsung Exynos 4412 processor and its microUSB port also works with MHL for HDMI output. Have a peek at our hands-on looks – there’s more than one – with the Galaxy Note II in the timeline below – and join us on October 24th for the big event!

Samsung teases Galaxy Note II event for October 24 is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

We’ve had a rather interesting Tuesday here at SlashGear, thanks in no small part to RIM. The company held its BlackBerry Jam today, introducing us to new BlackBerry 10 features like Peek and Flow. We also learned that BlackBerry 10 will come with support for your favorite social networks, even offering a native Facebook app. Carrier testing on the new mobile OS will begin next month, and RIM CEO Thorsten Heins said that BlackBerry has a good shot at becoming number three behind Android and iOS.

We found out today that Apple’s new Lightning adapters come with an authentication chip built in, and that New York City is experiencing a sharp increase in the number of Apple thefts. Apple’s Phil Schiller said that the scuffs and scratches some users are experiencing with their iPhone 5s are normal, and a teardown of the iPhone 5′s A6 processor provided some fresh insight into what’s going on under the hood. There’s a new way for you to bypass the 3-4 week wait for an iPhone 5 to be delivered to your home, and Instagram was updated with support for iOS 6 while Google delivered its own iOS update for Google Voice.

The Samsung Galaxy Note II will be launching in the UK on October 1, and speaking of Samsung, we heard whispers that the company is planning to launch a Tizen-based Galaxy smartphone. New reports are saying that the Kindle Fire HD is in for some serious competition from the Google Nexus 7, and Microsoft’s Kinect could potentially help save lives in a new map making gadget. Intel’s CEO claims that Windows 8 is being released with a number of bugs left unfixed, and Tesla has slashed its profit forecast after its new Model S hit some bumps in production.

Google Maps apparently won’t be coming to iOS 6 until Apple offers an invitation, and the Jaguar F-TYPE suffered a very sexy leak today. Box has issued an update for its iOS app and it’s offering some free stuff to all iOS users, while some labor experts are warning that there could be more Foxconn riots in the future. Sony announced today that a number of October retail releases will be on PSN from launch day, and is even offering PS Plus subscribers a 10% discount on the purchase price of most of them. Finally tonight, Gameloft has released a new trailer for Modern Combat 4, and we have to say that we were pretty impressed.

That does it for tonight’s Evening Wrap-Up! Enjoy the rest of your night everyone!

SlashGear Evening Wrap-Up: September 25, 2012 is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Samsung has announced pricing and availability for the Galaxy Note II in the UK, the follow-up to its surprise niche success the Galaxy Note “phablet.” The new Note II will hit UK shelves on October 1, both at Samsung’s flagship London store and via carriers on all major networks.

No official pricing for the Note II in the UK has been confirmed, though retailers have begun taking preorders themselves. Clove, for instance, has the 16GB Note II listed at £440 pre-tax, SIM-free and unsubsidized, though we’d expect the carrier versions to be offered from free with a qualifying agreement.

Your money gets you not only a 1.6GHz quadcore processor, HSPA+ connectivity – unlike the LTE versions in the US – and a 720p Super AMOLED touchscreen, but a special digital stylus which can be used to handwrite notes, sketch out diagrams, and make annotations to photos, videos, and presentations. There’s also an 8-megapixel main camera and a 1.9-megapixel front-facing camera, with Full HD video recording.

Samsung had already announced availability for the Galaxy Note II in the US, with US Cellular already throwing the 5.5-inch handset up for preorder. More on the Note II in our hands-on.

Samsung Galaxy Note II hits UK on October 1st is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Samsung‘s popular and impressive looking Galaxy Note II was finally announced earlier this week as coming to all major US carriers. It was good news indeed, but none of the carriers have made any formal announcements — except for US Cellular. They are planning to beat the others to the punch this time around and have already announced pricing ($299) and a late October launch. And now they’re up for pre-order.

This 5.5-inch HD Super AMOLED packing phablet will be complete with US Cellular 4G LTE speeds and can be yours late next month for just $299. While that price is a little steep we haven’t heard from any other US carriers to compare it to. They priced their Galaxy S III higher than the rest too — so we have a feeling Verizon and the rest will be a better offer.

Since the Galaxy Note II will be headed to the US with the same size, specs, and design as the international model you’ll want to take a peek at our hands-on below for an idea of what to expect.

Yup, that 5.5-inch 1280x720p HD Super AMOLED display will look beautiful as it rocks Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and being powered by Samsung’s own Exynos 1.6 GHz quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM. You’ll also get 16GB of internal storage, micro-SD support, an 8 megapixel camera on the rear, and 1.9 front HD shooter for video chat and self portraits. All of that lasting all day thanks to a massive 3,100 mAh battery under the hood.

You all should know plenty about the Note II already, and if not hit our various links below. While we briefly mentioned this earlier in the week, you can pre-order the US Cellular Galaxy Note II right this minute, just click here. Will you be ordered this device from your regional carrier, or opt for something with a broader outreach like Verizon Wireless and their 4G LTE speeds?

US Cellular Galaxy Note II already up for pre-order is written by Cory Gunther & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Welcome to Wednesday evening everyone! Today brought us HTC’s highly-anticipated event, and it did not disappoint. It was there that HTC revealed two brand new Windows Phone 8 devices, the Windows Phone 8X and the Windows Phone 8S. Went went hands-on with both devices not long after they were announced, and shortly before HTC announced that these new phones will be landing at Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile in November. HTC released a video detailing the “design journey” of the 8X and 8S, and Nokia had some choice words about HTC’s “innovation” later on in the day.

Today was also a pretty big day for the Apple fans out there, as the company officially released the final version of iOS 6, and we were there with the full iOS 6 changelog. A new version of OS X Mountain Lion launched alongside iOS 6 (10.8.2 to be specific), and new benchmarks show that the iPhone 5 is a beast when it comes to browsing. IHS iSuppli says that the 16GB iPhone 5 costs Apple $207 to make, and a Samsung Facebook campaign has been invaded by the pro-Apple crowd. Samsung ultimately got the last laugh though, as it released a new commercial informing the consumers of the world that the best has already arrived.

T-Mobile USA has named John Legere as its new CEO, and he sat down for a hello to everyone on YouTube. AT&T brought its 4G LTE service to 8 new cities today, and ZTE gave us an idea of when it will launch its first phones running Firefox OS. The Samsung Galaxy Note II has been announced for all major US carriers, and US Cellular gave the new device a price tag of $300 and a late-October launch. Earlier in the day, we heard that Google was planning to launch a new update for Google Maps on Android, and sure enough, that update arrived just a few hours later with a couple cool new features in tow.

Tobii and NTT DOCOMO will soon be showing off a new tablet with Tobii’s eye-tracking technology, while the Raspberry Pi’s turbo mode gives it a 50% boost in power. After its two co-founders announced yesterday that they were leaving the games industry, BioWare outlined its plan for the future (spoiler: it includes more Mass Effect and Dragon Age), and Toshiba announced the latest in its line of Camileo camcorders, the rugged BW20. Finally tonight, we have a review of the all new Kindle Fire HD for you to check out – does Amazon’s latest impress or does it fall flat? Read the review to find out!

That’s all for the Evening Wrap-Up, folks. Now go out and enjoy the rest of your night!

SlashGear Evening Wrap-Up: September 19, 2012 is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.